Brady speaks about witnessing fatal fire

By PAUL KENYON

Thursday

Mar 27, 2014 at 9:10 AM

Tom Brady had a firsthand view of real heroes in action on Wednesday and it made a huge impact on him. The quarterback Thursday related what he witnessed in the Boston fire that killed two firefighters.

Tom Brady had a firsthand view of real heroes in action on Wednesday and it made a huge impact on him. The quarterback Thursday related what he witnessed in the Boston fire that killed two firefighters.

The fire occurred in a Back Bay brownstone near one owned by Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen.

Brady spoke by telephone Thursday morning on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan radio show. He makes regular, paid appearances on that show during the season. This time, Brady did not call to talk about himself, but rather the bravery he witnessed in the fire.

"I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart," he said of what the firefighters did.

"I was in my bedroom. I'm about four doors down," he related. "My wife and my daughter were in the house. My wife (said), 'Look outside, there's a fire.' I looked out the front of our house and could see the flames, then kind of went back to my room and then went back about two minutes later and just saw it growing.

"At that point I had gone to the back part of the house, from my deck, and could see kind of what they were up against. At that point all the fire engines were coming down the street. I was watching for obviously a long time. At one point I saw a pretty big explosion of flames, and a lot of the firemen were coming out of the building. That's when I really got nervous. I felt so badly for them,'' Brady said.

"I can't express my gratitude and thanks enough to all the first-responders and the people that were there fighting that fire all night last night," Brady said. "I had a firsthand view of all the action and was just blown away by the bravery and the teamwork that they really displayed. I've lived in the Back Bay for a long time, and that was one of the scarier days. I feel so badly for the families of the two firefighters that were lost. And obviously all the men that were associated with fighting that fire yesterday, losing one of their close friends."

"We as athletes think that we're heroes, but when you witness firsthand what I saw yesterday, you realize who the real heroes are in this world, and that's the people that work hard to protect our lives and protect our safety, our freedoms in America; certainly the firefighters and Boston Police and the state troopers,'' he said.

He continued: "Our lives were never in jeopardy at all thanks to those men, brave men who were there fighting that fire for us. That was a very intense day of weather and wind. You just can't imagine all those things that really happened and how quickly those things can get out of control. I have such a newfound respect for nature and what it's all about and under those conditions for those men to watch them try to put out the fire in freezing conditions and all the different elements they had to deal with. There's no way to prepare for things like that. They gave everything they had, and a few of them paid the ultimate price.

"My respect and sincerity and love and admiration of what they do. It's hard to put it into words," he commented.

The fire was close enough that Brady eventually took his family out of harm's way.

"Once I saw all the firefighters getting out of the house, I told my wife, 'We've got to go.' We went just down the street to our friends' house," he said, adding that they then watched the news for updates before returning around 7:30 p.m. "I came back a few hours later just to kind of see what was going on. It was just a tough scene. It was just a tough day."

"You just think of how strong an event that is when you realize that a lot of your things, your house could just be gone. And you've got to think about, obviously our lives is what's most important; and the firemen who risk their lives. That's who I just can't pay enough respect toward," he said.

"I drive by the fire station in the Back Bay on Hereford and Boylston [Streets]. I've driven by that fire station thousands of times in all my years in the Back Bay. That was the group that was closest to the action. They were the first ones into the building. I can't obviously thank them enough and understand the tragedy that that fire station's gone through."

"Those firemen, they're in my thoughts and prayers all day, and my family,'' the quarterback said. "Without them, it could have been a very tragic day for not only the houses in the neighborhood and the lives of people, but they kept everybody safe. That's really where I can't thank them enough."

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